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This is an idea about an alternative menu. The menu is placed in a panel with two rows. One row is visible (or autohide). You can use it as a normal panel with taskbar and system tray. The other row (that probably will be bigger) contains the menu (or widgets). The second row (the menu) appears when the user clicks on the menu button in the first row, clicks on the super-key or with a screen edge gesture. The second row can appear under the first row or on top of it.

The advantage of this menu is that you can use the  whole screen width (depends how big you make the panel) and that it a mix of a panel, widgets and a menu.

In the panel sub menus can be placed, (re)moved and resized just like  widgets. The submenus can be visible at all time or collapse. These submenus like favorites, apps, computer etc can easily change place, resized or add items to it. 

Maybe it makes more sense to have panels be able to be stacked or moved arbitrarily. If you could "stack" a second panel on top of your existing one, it would accomplish the same thing.